Cromwell official says he won't retract land deal comments

CROMWELL -- The town's human resources director has flatly refused to retract comments he made about Tax Collector Sharon A. Ramsay in connection with a disputed land sale.

Ramsay had demanded that Thomas A. Roohr, the human resources director, retract comments he made about her in a lengthy administrative report that looked into the sale of a portion of land off Senator Drive.

In a letter sent to Roohr by a private attorney last week, Ramsay condemned what she called "libelous charges" made by Roohr with "a reckless disregard for the truth."

Ramsay's attorney, Kathleen Eldergill, gave Roohr until Tuesday to retract what she said were "false statements of fact," and warned him he could face unspecified "additional damages."

Until Tuesday, Roohr had refrained from making any comment on Ramsay's demands. However, on Tuesday, he broke his silence to issue a tart and succinct message.

Asked if he was going to retract his comments, Roohr said, "No. I am standing by my report as written. It was based on a very detailed police investigation."

In the report, which focused on the actions of more than half-a-dozen town employees and/or officials, Roohr criticized Ramsay for not alerting the Board of Selectmen to the proposed sale of the 2.37-acre parcel of land.

The land was supposed to go to the town; the Board of Selectmen had voted to accept the parcel for use as open space in 2000. For reasons never explained, the deed granting the land to the town was never filed, however.

In 2009, Selectman Anthony Varricchio came to Ramsay's office to review a list of tax delinquent properties. His son Thomas then followed up and expressed interest in buying the land.

Without consulting the selectmen, First Selectman John M. Flanders waived the town's claim to the land and agreed to allow it to be sold to the younger Varricchio - if it was used as open space.

Varricchio bought the property for the $1,271 that was owed in back taxes.

The subsequent disclosure of the sale created an uproar, which led to first a police investigation and then to Roohr's separate investigation.

The land remains in the control of Thomas Varricchio at least for now, although a Superior Court judge ruled last month Varricchio has no valid claim to the land. The judge said the title to the land should revert to developer William Coons, who originally promised to convey it to the town.